Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24), guard Jasper Johnson (2) and forward Braydon Hawthorne (right) celebrate from the bench during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Good morning, BBN!
Mark Pope and his staff are out on the recruiting trail as they look to make some noise in the high school ranks in the class of 2027. However, their biggest recruiting win might come from an NBA Draft decision by Malachi Morneo.
It is safe to say this decision will likely impact the excitement for next season and could either help get Coach Pope back into the good graces of the BBN or put one nail in the coffin many have already built for him. That is why the tweet from Moreno yesterday afternoon got the fanbase talking.
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â Malachi Moreno (@malachimoreno24) May 19, 2026
WHAT COULD IT MEAN?! That is exactly what we all were shouting as we saw it. Moreno has retweeted a few accounts in recent months, but this is actually the first tweet heâs personally sent out since March 19.
Moreno participated in the in the GSL Sports Group Pro Day in Los Angeles on Tuesday in front of all 30 NBA teams. After working out for the New York Knicks and meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, it is expected that Moreno will have a few more workouts to end the week.
With his stock still sitting firmly around the late first round mark, you can find mock drafts that place him as the 23rd pick to Atlanta (Yahoo Sports) or find him slipping into the early second round, as ESPN has him.
One thing is for certain: If he does decide to stay in the draft, the Kentucky native will hear his name called this year. Now it just depends on which option he prefers.
Either way, we should be getting an answer very soon.
"I wish he didn't come back to college basketball. I honestly mean that. I like Will, I've known him since 2007. But man, you suck for college basketball right now. You're making it into a mockery. Look in the mirror and understand⌠pic.twitter.com/5vrL46xcSS
Apr 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after making a three point basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
For most of the last two years, Payton Pritchardâs contract has been one of the easiest things on the Celticsâ books to celebrate.
A four-year, $30 million deal signed in October 2023 for a guard who can shoot, handle the ball, push pace, scrap in the paint, bomb away from the logo and swing games by himself? Yes, please and thank you. No further questions. Please put that receipt in a frame and hang it next to the 2024 banner.
That version of the conversation was fun while it lasted. Sadly for us, though certainly not for PP himself, itâs about to change.
Pritchard is no longer a plucky underdog value story. He isnât the scrappy bench guard who outperformed expectations and turned into one of Brad Stevensâ better pieces of business. Well, in a way heâs still all of that, sure, but as weâre about to find out, heâs become so much more. After his last couple of seasons, Pritchard has become one of Bostonâs more interesting offseason variables.
Thatâs what happens when a bargain starts playing like something much closer to a pillar.
The contract is still absurd. The role is anything but.
The Celtics are set to pay Pritchard $7.8 million next season. In the NBAâs current financial climate, that number feels like it was discovered in a couch cushion. Boston will owe Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White roughly $145 million combined next season, while no other player on the roster is currently set to make more than $11 million. Pritchard living in that range while producing the way he did is laughably amazing for Boston. Itâs one of the reasons the Celtics stayed afloat, and then some, during a season that could have gone sideways fast.
But thatâs also where this gets complicated.
Pritchard feels like heâs become more than a ânice to haveâ player. The Celtics leaned on him too much, and he delivered too often, for him to be treated like a budget-friendly depth piece.
He gave Boston real creation when the offense needed it. He played with pace when the game started to bog down. He punished defenses that lost him. He became more than just a catch-and-shoot threat. There were nights when he wasnât simply supplementing the stars. He was the star, organizing possessions, creating advantages and forcing Joe Mazzullaâs hand to trust him with more responsibility.
Pritchard plays with the exact kind of irrational confidence that makes sense only after the shot goes in. When it doesnât, youâre halfway through saying, âPayton, what are we doing?â When it does, youâre nodding like you saw the whole thing coming.
Jaylen Brown said during the season that Pritchard was playing at an All-Star level and that Boston trusted him to run things. That wasnât a throwaway compliment. It reflected what the games looked like. Pritchard earned more trust because he kept giving the Celtics reasons to offer it.
Jaylen Brown said Payton Pritchard has been playing at an âAll-Star levelâ lately:
Now the team has to decide what that trust is worth.
A bargain with leverage
Pritchard is extension eligible this offseason, and thatâs where the current bargain starts becoming a bigger question.
Under normal circumstances, this would be easy enough. Pay the guy. Keep the guy. Celebrate the guy. Maybe build a statue of him launching that infamous halfcourt heave in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
But Pritchardâs current contract is such a bargain that it limits how much Boston can offer him on an extension. The rules come into play here, and Keith Smith recently laid out the key point: because Pritchardâs salary is below the Estimated Average Player Salary, Boston may be able to offer more than a simple 140% raise off his current number.
Pritchard will be eligible for 140% of his final-year salary or 140% of the Estimate Average Player Salary. Because his salary under the EAPS amount, Pritchard will be eligible for a bigger extension. Probably somewhere in the range of 4 years and up to $95-$100M. https://t.co/GZdMlkQsVr
That is real money, but itâs also not the same as open-market money.
Pritchard is making $7.8 million next season, which is among the leagueâs best value deals. But if he believes this past season was a new baseline rather than a peak, waiting could make sense. The cap is going up. The tax line is going up. Teams always need shooting, ball handling and competitive guards who donât shrink from big moments.
Taking the extension would give Pritchard security now. Waiting could give him leverage in the future.
For once, Boston might not be the only side with it.
And thatâs before getting into the roster-building piece of all this. Pritchardâs contract is valuable because he outplays it. That also makes him one of the few movable contracts on the roster that could actually interest other teams. Boston doesnât have many mid-sized salaries. So, if the Celtics want to chase a center, add more size or reshape the roster in a meaningful way, rival teams are not going to start the conversation by asking for the guys Boston is already mentally Photoshopping out of next yearâs team picture.
Pritchardâs value cuts both ways.
The Celtics have to decide what Pritchard means to them
If you extend Pritchard, youâre keeping a player who has become part of the teamâs identity. He plays with the exact kind of edge Celtics fans love. Heâs annoying in the best way. He rebounds like he has personally been offended by taller people his whole life.
If you move him, you better be doing it for something that clearly raises Bostonâs ceiling.
Trading Pritchard because his contract helps make the math work is one thing. Trading him because the Celtics are hunting for a real upgrade is another. Thereâs a tightrope there, and itâs a narrow one to traverse.
The Celtics donât have to decide whether Pritchard belongs anymore. He answered that.
The harder question is what kind of player they believe he will be going forward.
Is he the long-term sixth man who stabilizes the offense and closes certain matchups? Is he a possible starter if Bostonâs backcourt thins out? Is he the kind of player you extend now because you know the price will only get scarier later? Or is he one of the few non-star pieces valuable enough to help the Celtics make a bigger move?
None of those questions are meant to be insulting. Theyâre the cost of becoming important.
Pritchardâs contract is still one of Bostonâs best bargains. But because of how out-in-the-open good heâs become, the conversation around him canât stay cheap forever.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 19: James Harden #1 and Head Coach Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers high five during the game against the New York Knicks during Game One of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 19, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
This terrible loss showed two things. Number one, the advantages that you thought the Cavs would have coming into this series proved true. And number two, this team struggles to counter in-game adjustments.
Weâll start with the positives, since those are easy to miss in a game defined by the final quarter.
The Cavsâ defense was up to the challenge.
Defense is the first thing that usually gets blamed when you blow a lead as large as the Cavs did. However, even in the Knicksâ fourth-quarter comeback, it was their inability to create offense that ultimately did them in far more than their defense.
Clevelandâs defense on Karl-Anthony Towns was excellent, especially when the Cavs had two bigs on the floor.
One of Townsâs best skills on offense is being able to pull the center out of the paint and then playmake from there. Having Evan Mobley providing on-ball pressure with Jarrett Allen off-ball at the rim short-circuited that process. This contributed to a few of his seven giveaways on the night.
Having Allen as the primary defender on Josh Hart paid off. The defense dared Hart to beat them off the dribble or with the three-ball. He wasnât able to do so as he went 1-5 from three and finished with the worst plus/minus of anyone in Game 1 at -23.
Cheating off Hart can be risky because of what he can provide as an offensive rebounder. The Cavs did a good job of not losing track of him in these situations. Having two rim protectors, one to cheat off Hart and clog the paint, and one to guard Towns, worked perfectly
The Knicks werenât able to generate many outside looks. The best way to defend the three-point line is to keep your opponent from getting those shots. The Cavs limited the Knicks to just 32 outside looks, which translated to a third of their shot attempts (24th percentile). Thatâs a win for a team that has been on fire from three throughout the postseason.
The Cavs were able to do so while still defending the rim. New York converted just 62.5% of their looks in the restricted area.
These are the signs of a good defensive process. It was their work on this end that led to their 22-point lead.
Offensively, Donovan Mitchell had much more space to operate compared to the previous two seasons. This allowed him to get to the paint more easily, especially during the second and third quarters when the Cavs were playing their best.
Clevelandâs bigs showed that they could be impactful in the paint. The guards didnât feed them the ball as they shouldâve, but when they did, good things happened.
Allen was impactful as an offensive rebounder. He grabbed six second-chance opportunities in a game that felt like it was going to be a reversal of the 2023 series.
The Cavs also generated clean three-point looks. The Knicks sell out more than nearly any other team to protect the basket. This is why they gave up the second-most threes in the league throughout the regular season.
Cleveland took nearly half of their shots from behind the arc. And while you donât necessarily want to see Mobley attempt eight triples, most of the ones the Cavs did get were clean. The shot quality was good. The issue was that they only converted 32% of their looks. If they keep getting good shots, youâd expect that to turn around at some point.
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Blowing a 22-point lead doesnât come down to one thing. So many factors worked against the Cavs in the final eight minutes for them to give this away. But if you were forced to blame one thing, the offenseâs inability to score down the stretch is what ultimately did them in.
The Cavs scored just 11 points in the final 13 minutes of regulation and overtime. The process went away, as they opted to bleed the clock instead of attacking whenever they saw an opening.
Basketball is a rhythm-based sport. If you halt your pace to waste time, you also take yourself out of the natural flow that allows you to perform your best. And then when you need to get back to it, as the Cavs did in overtime, itâs hard to find that again.
Mitchell and James Harden deserve the most blame for the offense falling apart in the fourth. They both failed to get the bigs involved, werenât able to get downhill, and needlessly dribbled the air out of the ball.
The lack of aggressiveness from Mitchell was the most puzzling. He attempted just four shots in the fourth quarter, and mostly wasnât a factor late.
Kenny Atkinson deserves blame for the collapse, most of all with how the team defended Jalen Brunson down the stretch.
Thereâs no excuse for seeing that happen and not adjusting.
We know who Harden is as a defender. There are things that he can do well, given his size and strength. Hanging with a quicker guard like Brunson in isolation isnât one of them.
If Harden is going to be targeted like that, he probably shouldnât be on the court. But if youâre insistent on playing him for what he provides offensively, the game plan around him needs to be better.
Itâs clear that the Cavs were willing to just give up the switch. Defenders werenât fighting to stay with their assignment when the screen came. This strategy worked with Hart in the game; it didnât when New York opted for shooting.
The Cavs werenât prepared for a small-ball version of the Knicks.
Harden was able to be targeted because Landry Shamet (a shooter) was in place of Hart (not a shooter). If one of the bigs was able to roam off Hart, the paint still wouldâve been clogged, and Brunson wouldnât have been able to get going.
Not being prepared for this caused the Cavs to try to double these actions late, but itâs clear this wasnât something they could execute. The double was more passive than anything, and the backside rotations werenât where they needed to be for this to work.
I think this play is quite instructive â Terrible âdouble teamâ that doesnât force Brunson to give up the ball â If you are actually doubling, Mobley would rotate to OG and Harden would fall off to Bridges
This collapse was more a failure of preparation â which is understandable given the turnaround from Game 7 in Detroit â than anything else. The Cavs have the personnel to defend this better and have done so in the past.
Youâd expect the Knicks to go with more five-out lineups in Game 2.
This game stings. You canât afford to give away opportunities like this against an opponent as good as the Knicks and get away with it. At least not if you do so repeatedly.
That said, Game 1 doesnât decide a series. And if it does, it wasnât one that you were going to win anyway. The sky isnât falling, at least not yet.
The Cavs have experience in these situations due to blowing multiple games already this postseason. Theyâve responded well in each of those situations. Theyâll need to do so again if theyâre going to come back from a hole they dug completely on their own.
âItâs one game,â Mitchell said. âWe couldâve lost by 40. It still wouldâve been 1-0.â
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 18: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder look on during the game during Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 18, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Spurs took homecourt advantage from the Thunder in Game 1, which became an instant classic. While missing DeâAaron Fox, who might still be out a while longer, they went to Oklahoma City and handed the home team its first loss of the entire playoffs in double overtime. Now theyâll look to take a commanding lead back to San Antonio by winning Game 2.
Dylan Harper did phenomenally in Foxâs stead, showing once again a maturity beyond his years, but the game belonged to Victor Wembanyama. The big man finished with 41 points on 25 shots, along with 24 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks, yet somehow the stat line doesnât do his performance justice. The Thunder couldnât do anything about him on offense as he punished the smaller defenders they used on him. His long three-pointer to send it to a second overtime feels like one of those highlights that will be remembered if the Spurs advance.
If thereâs such a thing as a must-win game this early in a series, Game 2 is it for the Thunder. Heading on the road tied at one would be a reasonably good result. They could regain homecourt advantage quickly with a split in San Antonio. Another loss, however, puts them in a position to have to win four of the next five, with three of those away from Oklahoma City. After a not stellar performance for his standards, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will surely look to exert his will on the game like Wembanyama did in the previous matchup.
Spurs Injuries: DeâAaron Fox â Questionable (ankle)
Thunder Injuries: Thomas Sorber â Out (knee)
What to watch for:
Who guards Wemby?
The Thunder went with a common approach to defending Wembanyama: use a smaller player on him to push him out of position and take away his dribble. Itâs been a tactic that has had success in the past, but not this time, as Wembanyama scored nine points in just five shots when guarded by Alex Caruso. Whenever he could catch close to the rim, either on cuts or after switches, it was a bucket. He also punished OKC in the offensive boards a couple of times. Wemby was too big, and the mismatch was a problem.
At the same time, can the Thunder really adjust? Wembanyama has gotten the best of Chet Holmgren for most of their pro career. Hartenstein could be a better option to guard him, but Wemby can just either draw him out to the perimeter or try to force a switch. There are just not a lot of bigs who can hang with The Alien, which is why the strategy of having strong perimeter guys guard him exists in the first place. Itâs unlikely Mark Daigneault will completely switch his defensive game plan after one game, but he might mix things up more in Game 2.
The two young guards might need to step up again
DeâAaron Fox is listed as questionable and expected to be a game-time decision. Thereâs a chance heâll suit up, but itâs also completely possible, and even likely, heâll miss another matchup. If he does, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle will need to once again answer the call and deliver like veterans on the biggest stage theyâve been on.
Their performances in Game 1 werenât perfect, as they struggled with their outside shot and Castle was turnover-prone, but their defense was terrific, and they combined for 41 points, 17 boards, and 17 assists. Harper also pitched in seven steals. Lack of experience has been considered one of the Spursâ weaknesses, but the two young guards looked comfortable despite the high stakes. If Fox is out again, hopefully they can have another consagratory performance, because the Spurs will probably need it.
Fatigue could be a major factor for both teams
The double overtime finish made Game 1 epic, but it also led to heavy minutes of intense play for most of the protagonists. All five Spurs starters were on the floor for more than 44 minutes, and Devin Vassell crossed the 50-minute mark. For the Thunder, Holmgren played 40+ minutes, SGA played 50+ minutes, and Jalen Williams, who is probably battling conditioning issues after injuries, got almost 40 minutes himself. There is only one day off between games, so the somewhat shallow San Antonio and the not-used-to-big-minutes OKC could struggle with exhaustion.
Fatigue could hurt the Spurs more, especially if Fox is not ready to go. While they are young, they had to play their main guys more in the first matchup. For San Antonio, a blowout, going either way, would provide an obvious signal they need to rest their guys, since there is no long break before the series continues. The hope is they can get production from their bench to avoid overloading their top players. But the potential of a 2-0 lead could be too enticing to resist, even if it means playing their starters heavy minutes to give themselves a chance. The Spurs are typically careful with load management, so it will be interesting to see how they handle playing time and rotations.
Cade Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell compete for the ball during the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Photograph: Sue Ogrocki/AP
Game 7 in the NBA playoffs: a chance to kick back, enjoy the drama of a winner-takes-all shootout between basketballâs big beasts, and ⌠switch over from your regular TV provider to Amazon Prime? The excitement drains from the occasion at the first touch of the remote. Amazon no doubt imagined it had landed a real coup when the Eastern Conference semi-final series between Detroit and Cleveland extended to its maximum length, thereby handing the retail giantâs streaming arm, Prime Video, the right to air a Game 7 in the first season of its partnership with the NBA. In the event, Sundayâs game was a dud: a blowout win for the Cavs, playing on the road, that had all the electricity and charm of a stint in the doctorâs waiting room. Fortunately for viewers, Prime Video did its best to match the moment by producing a broadcast that was every bit as dull and juiceless as events on the court.
The pre-tipoff highlight was an interview with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on the occasion of his coronation as this seasonâs MVP, in which the Oklahoma City star appeared to be speaking from a movie theater for some reason. Blake Griffin, the house beefcake on Prime Videoâs studio set, chided ESPN insider Shams Charania for leaking this yearâs MVP announcement hours earlier: âItâs Sunday, Shams â go to brunch, you nerd.â If Hillary had won and Shams had kept his trap shut, weâd all be at brunch! The game got under way, and things did not improve. During the half-time show, Dirk Nowitzki rambled Germanly about various topics, while fellow former MVP Steve Nash delivered lines like âThat decisiveness in isolation is so importantâ with all the conviction of a hostage recording a ransom video. Host Taylor Rooks tried valiantly to compensate for the lack of chemistry on set by laughing at even the slightest hint of a joke from any of her panellists. Awkward laughter delivered over dead air on a platform it feels like a punishment to access: thatâs the Prime Video NBA playoffs guarantee.
These have been a difficult debut playoffs for Prime as it muscles in on the broadcast territory once ruled by what the media analysts call âlinear TVâ. The feed dropped out for several minutes during overtime in the play-in game between the Hornets and the Heat; buffering, the nightmare we all thought we outlived in 2006, has plagued the stream in several games; and video has frequently been mistimed with audio, producing delays and mismatches. Thereâs primetime, which is when the bulk of these playoffs are taking place, and then thereâs Prime Video time, which comes in around three seconds later. The audio itself in many games has often, in my experience at least, been strangely soft, requiring a trip all the way to the top of the volume scale to hear what the analysts and announcers are saying.
Compounding these technical difficulties has been the absence of any sense of occasion or big game feel on the Prime Video set. Inside the NBA, the program that anchored basketball coverage on TNT for many years before this season moving to ESPN, has become the pre-eminent talkshow in sports thanks to the alchemy of its stars, and the special qualities that each brings to the screen. The righteous fury of Charles Barkley, the bowtied jollity of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smithâs calm assurance, Shaqâs dad mumble and roomy suits: each is critical to the showâs virtuosity and success. Shaq and Barkley, in particular, spar and talk over the top of each other so frequently they have developed a kind of harmonic verbal jazz that is now the showâs stylistic signature. And though the migration to ESPN has not been an entirely happy experience, the quadâs chemistry has thankfully survived the move.
Over on Amazon the contrast could not be more stark: the Prime Video playoffs have felt more like an extended quarterly corporate budget meeting than the pinnacle event in professional basketball. Nash and Nowitzki are Primeâs two heavy hitters, but even though they played together they often interact as if theyâre vague acquaintances whoâve just bumped into each other at dinner; itâs all a bit too polite, a bit too safe, to make for compelling TV. Prime Video has exited the playoffs, the remainder of which will be shown on ABC/ESPN and NBC/Peacock. But the effect of Amazonâs shuddering experiment in anti-TV lingers.
For fans there is, of course, a real fragmentation to the viewing experience now that playoff basketball is parceled out across a number of platforms and viewing portals. Under the terms of the NBAâs new 11-year, $77bn media deal, live basketball is spread across NBC, Peacock, ESPN/ABC and Prime Video â a patchwork that includes broadcast TV, cable and streamers. This inevitably causes some disruption to the experience of watching live sport as weâve become accustomed to it in the eras of channel surfing and multi-view, as an event in conversation with many others. For those of us with Prime Video and functioning fingers, thatâs not exactly the end of the world â we all have the ability to handle the remote and press the right buttons to find what weâre looking for â but siloing premium live sports on streaming services does tend to make the viewing experience more static, more clunky, less zappy and less fun.
Thereâs also the question of access to consider. Instead of liberating us from the cable bundle, TVâs streaming era has ended up delivering us into a world where we all need to sign up for a retail goods delivery service to enjoy postseason basketball. To view the cream of the NBA in battle on the big screen from the comfort of your own home, you must first ensure you have a subscription for next-day delivery of toilet paper. On its own, $14.99 a month (the price of an Amazon Prime subscription) may not seem like much to pay for access to premium live sport â but thatâs only one platform, and the costs of maintaining connection across all the different TV and streaming services that sports now live on are only multiplying (Amazon allows users to subscribe to streaming alone but structures it so that itâs most cost effective to pay for an entire Prime shipping subscription). Though precise figures are hard to come by, the most reliable estimates suggest that Amazon Prime has about 200 million customers in the US. On that basis itâs fair to assume that most basketball fans have Prime Video. But not all of them do â and not all neighborhood bars are prepared to pay the higher fees required to stream Prime in a commercial venue. At a time when the league is confronting a tanking epidemic and plagued by anxieties over its own productâs watchability, ripping a sizeable chunk of the postseason off normie TV and parking it on a streaming platform does not seem like the wisest strategy to allay those concerns and guarantee the sportâs long-term growth.
The NBA claims viewership is up across the board for the regular season and the playoffs â but data in the streaming era is notoriously chaotic and unreliable, so itâs anyoneâs guess what the figures actually reveal. Ultimately the objective truth is probably less important than the semblance of growth, which is what the NBA and other big leagues need to keep attracting money. Appearance matters more than reality, the narrative more than the substance; the real audience for the NBAâs hosannas about market growth is not the fan on the couch but the underwriter in the corporate box. Viewership, popularity, even the public itself now seem increasingly incidental to professional sports, whose mega media deals are cooked up on the back of opaque datasets for the ultimate benefit of a tiny class of owners and investors. With each passing year televised sport becomes more and more like the unreal economy of venture capital, in which inscrutable claims about market size mix with a general contempt for the target public, and investment capital takes on a speculative character, unmoored from any objective metric of performance or even the need to show a profit.
The shackling of this yearâs NBA playoffs to Prime Video has coincided with the emergence of a number of exotic new insults to the broader sports-loving public, most notoriously the extortionate pricing of tickets for the approaching World Cup. This weekend 40 dishonorables from the worlds of swimming, athletics and weightlifting will convene in Las Vegas for the inaugural drug-assisted Enhanced Games. The event will take place before â2,500 invite-only spectatorsâ in a custom-built competition complex, according to organizers. The idea of a public sporting event restricting spectator entry to invitees in the way that a private club may seems shocking at first, but on closer inspection itâs no more than a signal confirming professional sportâs general direction of travel.
Once a gathering ground for the poor and disadvantaged, live sport â whether experienced in person or on screen â increasingly feels like an exclusive privilege for the global elite. Eventually it wonât even be enough to pay to gain access to it. In a sense, thereâs something truly forward-looking about Prime Videoâs janky first attempt at covering the NBA playoffs: Amazon has given us a broadcast so powerfully alienating it effectively anticipates sportâs viewerless future. Letâs appreciate it, then, while we still can â before professional sport slips behind the curtain of wealth and celebrity for good.
Boston, MA - May 6: Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens speaks at the team's end-of-season press conference on May 6, 2026. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Math is hard. NBA math can be absolutely mind-dumbing even for âsmartâ people who write about the team. So when the cap experts talk, I like to listen.
I was watching old friend Keith Smith discuss the Celtics options on the Celtics Beat podcast and keyed in on some of the things he mentioned about the Celtics financial options (starting at about the 38:25 mark). He ran the numbers on the returning Celtics guaranteed contracts, the draft picks, and reasonable assumptions around the end of the roster guys and the two key figures he came up with are as follows.
The Celtics are about $15M under the luxury tax threshold and about $36M under the 2nd apron.
Hereâs what that means to some potential paths forward for the team.
Duck the tax again, use the MLE
The math: The Celtics have roughly $15M under the tax threshold. The MLE is right around $15M.
So theyâll be close enough to under the tax that they will be able to once again find a way to stay under and still upgrade the roster with a quality free agent. That could mean bringing back Anfernee Simons. It could mean getting a guy like Mitchell Robinson (though that might be a long shot). Keith mentioned guys like Brook Lopez or even bringing back Nic Vucevic on short term (tradable) deals if all else fails. Perhaps thereâs someone Iâm not even tracking that makes sense at that number. The point is, it is a valuable tool for the team to use.
Another thing to note is that you could forget the MLE and use the space you have to make an unbalanced trade. One that comes to mind is dealing Hauser to the Pistons for Isaiah (Beef Stew) Stewart. That would save the Pistons about 4M and give them a floor spacing wing to add to their offense.
Theoretically, if the team is able to duck the tax one more time, theyâll be more willing to spend into the tax for the next several years (as it becomes harder and harder to fill out the roster around the Jays).
Pay the tax, use both the MLE and TPE
The math: The Celtics are about $36M under the 2nd apron. They could use the MLE and as much of the $27.7M trade exception as you can fit under the 1st apron.
An important note: Using either the MLE or the TPE would (by rule) hard cap the team at the 1st Apron ($195.9M) which is above the tax threshold ($187.7M) but obviously below the 2nd Apron ($207.8M).
This would only be worth it if they can really make a go-for-it title chasing move. Weâre talking the equivalent of adding Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis back in 2023-24.
I have no idea who the names would be that fit that bill. Perhaps the Cavs end up winning the Giannis sweepstakes and decide that they need to offload a center and the Celtics happily oblige by taking Jarrett Allen (in exchange for picks) off their hands. Not sure how realistic that is, but the point is that you can do a lot with a $27.7M trade exception if you have an owner that is willing to pay the tax bill. But again, it has to be for the exact right guys that could put this team over the top.
Keith wisely points out that the one number the Celtics wonât go over is the 2nd Apron (if thatâs even possible), because of all the roster restrictions that come with that (including the frozen future draft pick). Brad moved a lot of salaries to get out of that particular jail cell, and heâs not going to jump right back into it any time soon.
Blockbuster trade (involving Jaylen Brown or Derrick White)
Weâve already put a great deal of time and virtual ink dedicated to the blockbuster options. You know the names and potential impacts by now. I donât think Brad is in any particular hurry to move either Jaylen or Derrick. On the other hand, I donât think he would hesitate to sell high if the right return came back either.
What would you prefer to see the Celtics do? What are some names of players that you would want them to pursue this offseason?
Boston, MA - January 28 - Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) lets the ball get loose as Boston Celtics guards Jordan Walsh (27), Hugo Gonzalez (28) and Baylor Scheierman (55) surround during the second half of a NBA game at the Garden. (Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images). | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Donât waste youth with the young.
Thereâs a natural reaction in the playoffs to shorten your rotation â you want to play your best players the most when it matters most. Mazzulla started trimming his lineups towards the end of the regular season from 10ish to 8ish in anticipation of the postseason.
But not until late into the Celticsâ collapse did the team realize that was a mistake or maybe better put, that wasnât their identity.
Through eight straight wins to start their back-to-back bid, the Thunder went nearly 10-11 deep in their undefeated run before the Western Conference Finals. That may partly be because theyâre beating the brakes off of the Suns and Lakers, but more likely, itâs because theyâve fostered a Stay Ready mentality from top to bottom.
Out of necessity, Mazzulla employed a similar strategy during the 82-game marathon of a regular season, but at least to start their series against the Sixers, shortened his rotation. However, by Game 7, he was starting the backend of the bench in Game 7 â a move many fans thought he should have made from the beginning.
With the off-season in mind, Stevens should embrace that mindset in building out the roster again. There will be an instinct to turn nickels, dimes, and quarters into dollars. However, if this CBA era has taught us anything, itâs that youth and depth is a premium not just for the regular season, but for the rigors of every 48-minute battle of the NBA Playoffs war. Whether theyâre still on their rookie deals or have team options for next season, the Celtics have nine players that could be making under $3 million next season. Some might not return, some might be included in a trade, but Brad needs to beware of an empty cupboard come training camp next September.
BOSTON, MA â JUNE 21: Derrick White #9, Al Horford #42, Jayson Tatum #0, Jaylen Brown #7, Kristaps Porzingis #8, and Jrue Holiday #4 of the Boston Celtics pose for a photograph with the Larry O'Brien Trophy and the Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy before the 2024 Boston Celtics championship parade on June 21, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
But donât forget the old dogs.
Tobias Harris was on one. The 14-year veteran was Detroitâs second-leading scorer for a Pistons core of 24-year-old Cade Cunningham, 22-year-old Jalen Duren, and 23-year-old Amen Thompson. In Game 1 against the Spurs, Alex Caruso (age 32) scored 31 points and defended Wemby well in stretches. Landry Shamet was a +25 in the Knicksâ 22-point comeback last night.
The 2024 championship season certainly belonged to the Jays and Brown and Tatum are still the foundation of the franchise at age 30 and 28 respectively. However, it was the collective experience of Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis that helped raise Banner 18. You have to think that if one of those guys was still on the team against Philly, Game 7 swings our way.
Despite the early exit, one of the silver linings of the regular season was the breakout years of Luka Garza (28), Baylor Scheierman (26), Ron Harper, Jr. (26), Jordan Walsh (22), and Hugo Gonzalez (20). Mazzulla will need to lean on that young depth again, but entering free agency armed with a hefty TPE and the non-taxpayer MLE, Stevens will have an opportunity to add a player or two this summer and he shouldnât be concerned leaning on some old dogs. They may not be able to learn new tricks, but if they can consistently add a different element to the young mix, thereâs 15-20 minutes a night for a seasoned pro.
SAN ANTONIO, TX â MARCH 10: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics look on during the game on March 10, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
We might need a center.
Victor Wembanyama. Isaiah Hartenstein. Chet Holmgren. Karl-Anthony Towns. Jarrett Allen. Evan Mobley. Jalen Duren.
We should expect to meet any and all of those big men in next yearâs march through the playoffs. And letâs not forget how Joel Embiid revealed just how much the Celtics lacked a consistent big man against him in their first round elimination.
Both Neemias Queta and Luka Garza were revelations during the regular season and Nikola Vucevic had his ups and downs in his injury-plaqued time in Boston and even he, the steady vet that has averaged 22 and 11 over 12 seasons, couldnât add consistency to the center position. With how dominant seven-footers have been so far in the postseason, itâs a chilling reminder just how much Boston misses Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet.
The knee jerk reaction has been to ramp up the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade debate and maybe thatâs the play. Maybe thereâs a trade for a big that doesnât include Jaylen Brown. Whatâs certain is that the 5-spot might be Bostonâs #1 priority this summer.
But Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson went to Hack-a-Mitch, and he was played off the floor.
Mitchell Robinson went 2-for-8 from the free throw line during the Knicksâ 115-104 comeback overtime win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 on May 19, 2026 at the Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Cavaliers went to the strategy in the third quarter. Knicks coach Mike Brown left Robinson on the floor for a prolonged stretch despite it stifling their offense.
Robinson went 2-for-8 from the free throw line before Brown finally yanked him.
The Knicks deficit went from 14 to 15 points during that stretch.
âI wanted to give him a chance,â Brown said. âMitch has been great for us the last few games in that situation. Weâre gonna continue to give him a chance. Weâll move him around and do some different things with him. Mitch can impact the game in different ways, so we need him on the floor.â
But when the Knicks mounted their historic comeback, Robinson was glued to the bench. He played just one minute in the fourth quarter and overtime.
As the Knicks erased a 22-point fourth quarter deficit, Atkinson largely watched it unfold without calling a timeout.
It wasnât until the Knicks had cut it to five points with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter that Atkinson finally called timeout.
âI like to hold my timeouts,â Atkinson said. âI didnât want to have one timeout at the end of the game, one- or two-point game. I try to hold them.â
Avery Wilson, who plays the scarecrow in the 2024 revival of âThe Wizard of Oz,â once again sang the national anthem before the game.
He has performed the anthem multiple times at MSG this postseason. The Knicks are undefeated in those games.
OG Anunobyâs injured hamstring prevented him from returning for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals â until he was needed most.
The Knicksâ best all-around performer through the bulk of the first two rounds was largely out of rhythm in his first game in 13 days, struggling to move with his customary speed and ferocity in Tuesday nightâs series-opener.
But Anunoby â who reentered the game with the Knicks trailing 93-71 and 7:52 left in the fourth quarter â gutted his way to the finish line, contributing nine points, three rebounds and a steal in overtime of the Knicksâ 115-104 win over the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.
OG Anunoby drives on James Harden during the Knicksâ 115-104 comeback overtime win in Game 1 on May 19, 2026 at the Garden. Brad Penner-Imagn Images
âWe had to keep fighting,â Anunoby said. âWeâre just mentally tough. We knew we had a run in us. Just play to the end.â
The Knicksâ second-round sweep of the 76ers â combined with Clevelandâs seven-game series against the Pistons â gave Anunoby much-needed time to recover, but the rest came with plenty of rust.
The sellout crowd welcomed back Anunoby with a deafening roar during the teamâs introductions, understanding the importance of the teamâs top defender to their title hopes â just two years removed from an Anunoby hamstring injury essentially flipping the outcome of their second-round loss to the Pacers â but the excitement quickly evaporated.
Anunoby missed the gameâs first shot. His next attempt was off, as was his next 3-pointer, which went long for an airball.
He appeared shaky, his steps somewhat measured, just two weeks removed from a stretch in which he dominated both ends of the floor with explosiveness and decisiveness.
One drive ended with an awkward Euro step and a traveling call. Another possession ended with him fumbling a pass in the lane, as the Cavs turned an 11-point deficit into a 50-48 halftime lead.
Anunoby went to the break with two points, one rebound, one turnover and a team-worst minus-12 rating.Entering Tuesday, Anunoby was averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and a team-best 1.9 steals in the playoffs, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field (a team-high 53.8 percent on 3-pointers).
â[There was] a little rust, but that was expected,â Anunoby said. âI knew that. As the game went on, the rust wore off.â
Anunoby remained largely invisible in the third quarter, but the game changed when Mike Brown asked him to return with less than eight minutes left and the outcome seemingly decided.
Anunoby missed an open 3-pointer with the Knicks trailing by six with 1:41 left in regulation, but the 6-foot-7 forward then delivered the gameâs biggest assist. He took a pass from Jalen Brunson at the top of the key, then swung it to Landry Shamet in the corner for the game-tying 3-pointer with 44.3 seconds remaining.
Anunoby, who finished with 13 points (shooting 2-for-9 from the field, including 1-for-6 from 3), five rebounds, two assists, one steal and a plus-15 rating in 34 minutes, hit seven free throws in overtime, plus a drive to put the Knicks up six with 2:56 remaining, sparking chants of âO-Gâ from the thousands who knew what his return could mean.
âI felt good,â Anunoby said. âJust continue to play hard, shoot shots and be aggressive. ⌠I donât think it was hesitancy [early]. Just as the game went on I felt more and more like myself.â
The New York Knicks have not won the NBA Championship since 1973 [Getty Images]
The New York Knicks mounted their biggest play-off comeback by overcoming a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in game one of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks trailed 93-71 with less than eight minutes remaining at Madison Square Garden, but outscored the Cavaliers 30-8 to tie the game at 101-101 before surging to victory in overtime.
It is the second biggest fourth quarter comeback in an NBA play-off game and the biggest since April 2012, when the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies from 24 points down.
"I don't know if I've ever seen that in a play-off game," Knicks head coach Mike Brown said.
"To be down 18, 19, 20 - whatever we were down - and to find a way to come back and win, I take my hat off to my group."
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 38 points in the final eight minutes of regulation time and overtime, while Mikal Bridges finished with 18 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 13 points and 13 rebounds.
"The team's relentless. You never know whose night it's going to be, but we're going to figure it out," guard Miles McBride said.
Donovan Mitchell led the scoring for the Cavaliers with 29 points, although only three came in the fourth quarter.
It was their 11th game in 21 days, while the Knicks had not played for nine days.
"We should have won the game," Mitchell said.
"We're up 22 with God knows how much time - got to win the game."
Game two of the best-of-seven series will take place at the same venue on Thursday (01:00 BST, Friday).
The series winners will meet the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The Spurs lead 1-0.
They meet at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Wednesday (01:30 BST, Thursday).
The first seven games of Karl-Anthony Towns, point center, had worked better than anyone couldâve anticipated.
The Knicks offense exploded. Towns was a pivotal part of an attack with a 130.5 offensive rating in that span, averaging eight assists.
But that was against the Hawks and 76ers, teams who didnât really have an answer for Towns.
James Harden and Jarrett Allen double team Karl-Anthony Towns during the second quarter of the Knicksâ 115-104 comeback overtime victory in Game 1 on May 19, 2026 at the Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Cavaliers are a different animal, and it showed in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
Towns was a non-factor offensively in the Knicksâ dramatic 115-104 come-from-behind overtime victory. He had trouble creating against Clevelandâs versatile and rangy big men defenders Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, limited to 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting along with seven turnovers.
âWe do feel like we have the personnel to bother him. Weâve got multiple guys who can put pressure on him,â Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. âWeâve gotta be really good with our off-ball defense. Theyâve definitely shifted schematically like everybody knows. Itâs been ⌠itâs high level so itâs going to be a big part of the series.â
Overall, it has been a strong postseason for Towns. He entered the night averaging 17.4 points, 10 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.5 blocks. He has been taking far fewer shots than a year ago in the playoffs â 9.2 compared to 15.8 â but making more of an impact at both ends of the floor.
Karl-Anthony Towns drives on Donovan Mitchell during the third quarter of the Knickâs Game 1 win over the Cavaliers. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
With Towns on the floor, the Knicks were outscoring the opposition by 24.8 points per 100 possessions.
On Tuesday, he struggled. He wasnât dealing with the immobile Joel Embiid anymore. In the end, though, the Knicks persevered as Jalen Brunson took over in crunch time, and Towns didnât mind that it wasnât his best offensive game.
âI think the Knicks found a way to win tonight, and thatâs all that matters,â said Towns, who did have 13 rebounds and five assists.. âItâs not about the individual performances, itâs about this team finding a way to put up a win on the board. I think thatâs whatâs special.â
Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -6.5; over/under is 214.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Knicks lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Knicks won the last matchup 115-104 in overtime on Wednesday, led by 38 points from Jalen Brunson. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 29.
The Knicks are 35-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. New York is 9-4 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Cavaliers are 33-19 in conference games. Cleveland ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference shooting 36.0% from 3-point range.
The Knicks' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Cavaliers give up. The Cavaliers average 14.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.4 more makes per game than the Knicks give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 28.4 points over the last 10 games.
Mitchell is scoring 27.9 points per game and averaging 4.5 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Max Strus is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 8-2, averaging 120.6 points, 44.9 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 8.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.2 points per game.
Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 109.0 points, 42.7 rebounds, 22.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: None listed.
Cavaliers: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Knicks were down by 22 points with 7:50 to go in the fourth quarter. Thatâs when Jalen Brunson went to work on James Harden.Â
Brunson scored 15 points in the final seven minutes, hitting seven of his last eight shots. His primary defender during several of those possessions? James Harden.Â
Brunson abused the entire Cavs defense â and Harden in particular â down the stretch in the fourth quarter.Â
At one point in overtime, Brunson had scored or assisted on 23 of the Knicksâ last 32 points. This was Brunson at his best, picking apart the Cavs defense. Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges both buried good looks from beyond the arc, thanks to Brunsonâs gravity.Â
âSometimes you gotta do what the game dictates,â Mike Brown said of targeting Harden in the fourth quarter. âThey were trying to do the same thing with Jalen. And so we said, OK, we feel like we can play that game. We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that game with in Jalen.Â
âAnd just like we have to try to figure out different ways to guard Harden and [Donovan] Mitchell, they gotta figure out different ways to guard Jalen. But thereâs no secret we were attacking Harden.â
Harden was just as bad on the other end of the floor. He went 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter. Youâd have to think Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson will adjust this strategy in Game 2. It was a big part of New Yorkâs historic comeback on Tuesday night.Â
CHESS MATCH
Another key decision in the fourth quarter? Brown going to Shamet. The Knicks coach initially went away from Shamet in Game 1. But with the Knicks down 14, he called Shametâs number. He put Shamet, OG Anunoby, Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns around Brunson. Itâs not often that Brunson is surrounded by shooters. But he was on Tuesday night. And it was a significant factor in New Yorkâs historic comeback.Â
âWe found a group of five guys that went out there, ended up getting stops and scoring the basketball,â Brown said.Â
Will Brown go back to this lineup in Game 2? Maybe. Will he go away from using Towns as a hub? Probably not. One thing Brown made clear after Game 1: he isn't going to abandon Josh Hart, who sat for the final 9:59 of regulation before entering for defense with the Knicks up nine in overtime.
âIf Josh is open and his feet are set, heâs gotta let it fly. Heâs made shots. We feel like heâs gonna make shots,â Brown said after the game. âAnd if he doesnât wanna shoot it, he can get to his middy or he can go [dribble handoff] with somebody, a quick DHO with somebody. We faced this coverage all year and we played well throughout the course of the year and we faced it in Atlanta.Â
"So, we started the game off 2-for-19 from the three-point line. It wasnât just Josh. We had some pretty good looks from the right people, and if those go in, the mojo is a little bit different. They didnât, and Cleveland was able to get back into it. The game is about adjustments. We made an adjustment down the stretch, and we were fortunate to be able to come back and get the win.â
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks during the first quarter in Game One of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers fumbled a prime opportunity to steal Game 1 on the road. They crumbled at the end, blowing a 22-point lead in history fashion.
Letâs go over todayâs winners and losers.
LOSER â Big Jim Harden
James Harden just had perhaps the worst individual defensive performance in NBA Playoff history. Seriously, it was historically bad. Harden was targeted eight times in isolation during the fourth quarter, something that has only happened 30 times in the history of the NBAâs tracking data (including regular-season games since 2013).
Harden gave up more points per possession in those situations than anyone, ever.
The Knicks had an absolute feast courtesy of Harden.
Jalen Brunson hunted him in a switch that came far too easily from the Cavs. I can blame Kenny Atkinson for that. Itâs inexplicable that the Cavs allowed this to happen as many times as it did without an adjustment.
Still, you have to do more than swipe at the ball and get torched any time you turn your hips.
â Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) May 20, 2026
Harden had no chance in these isolations. Heâs an upright defender who can only hold his own when someone tries to outmuscle him. A game thatâs predicated on craft and shiftiness is going to beat him every time. Brunson took advantage of that and delivered on a massive comeback.
That wasnât all, however. Harden finished with more turnovers than made field goals for the sixth time this postseason. An unimaginable stat that has contributed to some of Clevelandâs ugliest losses. The margin for error is too tight for Harden to play like this.
Even a 22-point cushion wasnât enough to cover it up.
LOSER â Prevent Offense
The Cavs, as Iâm sure youâve heard, had a 22-point lead with 7 minutes remaining. Thatâs bordering on garbage time. But this is the Eastern Conference Finals. And⌠weâre in an era of parity and three-point variance. You canât take your foot off the gas.
Those days are gone. You have to sprint through the finish line or risk a collapse. You saw what happened when the Cavs tried to jog.
As much as we crushed Harden for his defense â an equally bad thing occurred on the other end of the floor.
Clevelandâs offense, which diced the Knicks all night long for quality looks, abruptly went away from everything that was working.
No more ball movement.
The bigs? Forget âem.
Letâs not even bother going into the paint, actually
What if we just dribbled for an entire possession? That would waste a lot of time.
Letâs dribble for two full possessions.
What if we dribble for every possession?
Can we just dribble for the final seven minutes? Will they end the game if we keep dribbling?
The Cavs played âpreventâ offense down the stretch. Grinding themselves to a halt by trying to burn the clock. Each possession waned until the final seconds of the shot clock, which then only left the Cavs with an opportunity to run one action before hoisting a shot.
Thatâs how you blow a 22-point lead.
Teams up 20+ with 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of playoff games were 643-0 âŚ
Donovan Mitchell and Harden deserve blame for this. Kenny Atkinson, as well. Thereâs no excuse for making a mistake that has burned many teams before them. This team has overcome enough obstacles to understand what works and what doesnât. In no world does this team win games by letting go of the rope and drastically changing their approach in the final minutes.
WINNER â Defending the KAT action
Alright, letâs talk about some positives.
I truly believe the Cavs did lots of great things in this game. After all, that lead didnât appear out of thin air. The Cavs played lights out through three quarters, looking like the more focused and physical team. We know that didnât last â but thereâs one thing that remains a win for Cleveland.
The Cavs neutralized point-KAT.
New York had found success using Karl-Anthony Towns as an offensive hub. Theyâd set him up above the arch, forcing opposing rim protectors to vacate the paint and defend him outside as he poses too much of a shooting threat to leave alone. After successfully drawing out the big â KAT would set up shop and allow his teammates to screen for each other. Someone would slip to the rim or cause a breakdown, and KAT would handle the rest with his playmaking.
This has led to the Knicks posting some absurd scoring games in the playoffs with KAT dishing out over 7 assists per game.
However, the Cavs are especially equipped to handle this.
Evan Mobley defended Towns and got all up into his airspace. He didnât allow KAT to put the ball on the floor and made it difficult for him to access passing lanes.
Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen ignored Josh Hart in the corner and instead roamed the paint to clean up any slippage from the backcourt. Allen was the safety, ensuring no one could get into the paint without seeing a shot blocker.
This dynamic sets Cleveland apart as they are the only team New York has played that has two rim-protecting bigs who can handle KAT as an offensive hub. As a result, KAT finished with just 13 points on 14 shots to go with 7 turnovers to only 5 assists.
This is a winning formula for the Cavs. Itâs something that gave New York fits, and they can replicate it on any given night.
NEW YORK â As exultant fans leaked slowly back out into an unseasonably warm night in the city, the New York Knicks players huddled briefly near midcourt and embraced each other.
Just minutes earlier, this building had been dazed, silent. That was before Jalen Brunson carried his teammates and this city to an improbable comeback in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks frantically erased a 22-point fourth quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, 115-104, Tuesday, May 19 to position themselves three victories away from the NBA Finals.
It was the second largest comeback in the fourth quarter of a postseason game since 1997, the start of the play-by-play era.
Here are takeaways from the Knicksâ victory Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals:
The Cavaliers wasted a pristine chance â maybe the best theyâll have â to steal a game at the Garden
Entering Tuesday night, teams holding a 22-point lead at any point in the fourth quarter of a postseason game were 594-1, a winning percentage of .998. The Cavaliers made it 594-2.
This was, practically speaking, as good a chance as Cleveland will have to steal a game on the road. From the 7:49 mark until the end of regulation, the Cavs allowed the Knicks to ignite on a 30-8 extended run to send the game into overtime.
In fact, if you extend it further, the Knicks closed the game on an astounding 44-11 fusillade that snatched Clevelandâs soul.
âShouldâve won the game,â Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the game. âEven if there was complacency, we were up 22 with God knows how much time â eight minutes? Gotta win the game.â
In the fourth quarter and overtime, Mitchell and James Harden combined to go 2-of-13 for 9 points. The pair was scoreless after regulation. As New York clamped up its defense and forced Cleveland into turnovers, possessions devolved and shots became forced. The Cavaliers were initiating their actions well beyond the paint and they were starting late in shot clocks.
The biggest issue for Cleveland is that it now needs to flush this result and move on. Because a loss like this can linger. It can seep into the teamâs preparation and erode their confidence. And falling in an 0-2 hole could
âWe lost,â Mitchell added. âWe (expletive) blew it. All right, letâs get ready for Game 2. Simple as that.â
Jalen Brunson was a flamethrower in the fourth
This was special. It was one of the worldâs best closers willing his team to overcome the improbable. Knicks All-Star captain Jalen Brunson went on an absolute heater, strafing the Cavaliers with clutch shot-making in the fourth quarter. He shot 7-of-9 in the period, finishing with 15 points. During one stretch, he poured in 11 consecutive points to single-handedly shrink Clevelandâs lead to five.
This was Brunson at his best, no wasted movement, an understanding of space and leverage, a commitment to get to his spots. And when heâs like this, the Knicks are very difficult to beat.
Brunson finished the game with 38 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Cavaliers need to find a solution to James Harden being hunted on defense
This, to be clear, is not the only reason the Cavaliers blew their 22-point lead. But it was painfully transparent how readily the Knicks were hunting James Harden on defense, seeking him out in pick-and-rolls so that Jalen Brunson would get matched up with him. And every time New York found itself in that scenario, it took advantage.
The Cavaliers were trying to do the same thing when they had the ball, only seeking out Brunson in a matchup.
Needing to launch that massive run to reclaim the lead, the Knicks had to resort to that strategy.
âSometimes youâve got to do what the game dictates,â Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game. âThey were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, okay, we feel like we can play that game. We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy we can play that game with in Jalen.
âThere is no secret: we were attacking Harden.â
The puzzling part about Tuesday nightâs loss is that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson didnât adjust. He didnât bring Max Strus, a guard who has solid (if unspectacular) defensive ability. In fact, Atkinson called timeout only once during New Yorkâs relentless barrage.
âYeah, I like to hold my timeouts,â Atkinson said. âI didnât want to have one timeout at the end of the game. One or two-point game, I try to hold them.â
This wonât stop in Game 2. The Knicks will continue to exploit the matchup, so the Cavaliers need to find a way â whether itâs avoiding switches, whether itâs sprinkling in zone, whether itâs having Harden drift off to less potent scorers â to keep runs like this from happening again.
â Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) May 20, 2026
New Yorkâs recipe for success in the series: get to the paint
As much as the 3-point shooting struggles were a massive factor for New York falling in an early hole, and as much as its catching fire late was a big reason for the comeback, the more sustainable path toward success in the series is in the paint.
The Knicks outscored the Cavs there by a margin of 60-38 on Tuesday night. This is particularly notable because Cleveland tied for 10th in the statistic during the regular season, putting up an average of 52.0 paint points per game, while the Knicks ranked 22nd, at 47.8.
By having Jarrett Allen guarding Josh Hart, and by having Hart leak out toward the perimeter, that left the paint open for the Knicks to attack. Look for Cleveland to find ways to keep both Allen and Evan Mobley closer to the basket to protect the rim.
Because if New York can keep gaining a similar edge down low, itâs tough to see how the Cavaliers can stay competitive in the series.
